Let’s be honest: our “free time” isn’t really free.

We’ve all lost hours to doom-scrolling Instagram or TikTok after a long day, telling ourselves it’s a break—while quietly ignoring the opportunity cost. That same time could go toward learning something new, moving a passion project forward, or simply getting one important thing off your list.

That’s where Unforgetful comes in.

This app can’t and won’t force change on you or your family. But if you’re willing to take more control of your digital habits, Unforgetful gives you simple guardrails and gentle reminders: enjoy a little screen time, then step away and live your life.

We’re not anti-fun or “zero indulgence.” We’re pro-purposeful time. Your attention is one of your most valuable resources—it can either build your dreams or boost someone else’s bottom line.

Unforgetful is designed to be used as little as possible—just a few seconds a day. Open it to start a timer that keeps what matters front and center:
- Put the phone down
- Double-check the stove before you leave
- Move the car
- Or any other reminder that protects your time and peace of mind

Used consistently, you could reclaim dozens of hours for focused, meaningful work or truly restorative rest—rather than “meh” scrolling. Want to cut back more aggressively? Set your put-phone-down timer to 20 minutes. Prefer a lighter touch? Stick with the default 40 minutes.

If you have a teenager (or two), this can also be a great way to start a real conversation about screen time and family ground rules. Our hope is that many teens will at least try the app and discover it helps them too. Some will delete it right away—and that’s okay. If they do, we’d love to hear why. Send us their bluntest feedback; we’ll use it to make the app better.

We want to hear from everyone in your household:
- How helpful is the app for you?
- Do your teens hate it, tolerate it, secretly like it?
- What’s working—and what isn’t?

We don’t expect every kid to love it or every teen to keep it installed. But if even a few stick with it—and over months or years realize they’re getting their time back—that’s a win.

When you start out, feel free to use everything, unless you'd need to take/upload multiple photos a day or multiple recordings to import events to your calendar, set up new timers or reminders. Only then, we require all premium users to sign up for an account. 

Not ready to upgrade yet? Just try the calendar management with a unified view of both your personal and professional schedules in one panel. You could just establish a connection to your preferred calendar of choice (Apple or Google or Outlook). Note that Apple calendar users will need to create an app-specific password before you hook up to this app:   

💾 Open your Apple ID page, go to Sign-In and Security → App-Specific Passwords. You'll get a 16-character code like abcd-efgh-ijkl-mnop. (The name of the password doesn't matter much, it's for your own reference.) Copy it. Enter this code into the app-specific password field below the email field, which should be the email that's associated with your Apple ID/Calendar.

(Click on + the plus sign to create a new app-specific password for Unforgetful app, remember to copy it down before coming back to the app to paste it in.)

When you decide to upgrade to either an Ultra or an Unlimited membership, then you will need to sign up or sign in to your account. To save your time, you will see the email you used last for your calendar connection to pre-fill the email field when signing up/in. When you are logged in to your account, your connected calendar(s) will be associated with your app account, and next time you sign in on a desktop version you will see your calendar there populated with your event data from your connected calendar(s). 

Note that logging out of your app account will also disconnect your established calendar connection(s). But when you log back in your account again, your associated calendar(s) will re-establish connection(s) and your event data will re-populate. 

It's likely that your employer might not allow you to hook up to your work calendar. That's also where the camera/photo uploading feature comes in handy, allowing you to scan dozens of events at one time into the app. But don't go all in. You could just scan in a few really important work meetings or commitments, so that you know on those days you have to schedule your family activities around those events!

(For example, I got an important work event Friday next week, I see it right away when I am at today/Friday this week, alerting me instantly that I need to be mindful about avoid those hours a week from now to plan anything family related, as that seems a very "important" commitment I have to go to;)

Does this app track all my other apps, like social media and entertainment platforms to tally the time spent there?

No. This app doesn’t track any of your activity or usage data.

It’s built to work with your (and your family’s) own motivation. When you choose to practice digital self-discipline, the app supports you by reminding you to put the phone down after a set period of continuous use (40 minutes by default).

Do I have to sign up for an account to use this app?

No, you absolutely do not have to sign up. (We started out trying to let everyone go without one.) But if you'd like to use premium features, such as unlimited number of photo/recording uploads, then it's best to sign up and log in to enjoy being a premium user. 

Do I use the same email for signing up my account and for the connection with my main calendar?

You don't have to use the same email. We have been using Apple's Calendar for years, and we connect with that calendar with our gmail account, which is associated with our Apple ID. And we could use another, shared gmail account to sign up for the app account. 

If you sign up, you could also use the account to sync up the saved timers/reminders and calendar events in the app if you also want to use it on a laptop/desktop through a browser.

Do I have to create an app-specific password to connect to my Apple Calendar?

Yes. For better security, you are encouraged to create an app-specific password to sync your Apple Calendar with this app. This is how:

Open your Apple ID page, go to Sign-In and Security → App-Specific Passwords. You'll get a 16-character code like abcd-efgh-ijkl-mnop. (The name of the password doesn't matter much, it's for your own sake.) Copy it. Enter this code into the app-specific password field below the email field, which should be the email that's associated with your Apple ID/Calendar. 

Will the timers/reminders wake me up if I accidentally started one right before I went to bed?

Most likely no, but it depends on your Do Not Disturb settings on your device. We program the timers/reminders to be voice announced (a few important ones) or dinged (like receiving a new text message) within the allowed time frame in your device-wide Do Not Disturb setting. Say if your setting will silence notifications after 10pm, then even if a timer/reminder is triggered after 10pm, it won't be announced or dinged. (It will alert you with an on-screen notification the next time you open the app.)

Will it start a put phone down timer every single time I open the app?

No. We have configured the firing of the put phone down timer in a way that it won't fire up this timer even if you accidentally tapped the app icon and opened it by mistake just a few seconds after you exited it. Generally, it will only start this timer more than an hour after the trigger of the previous put phone down timer (when it announced that time's up to put your/your child's phone down). If you open the app less than an hour after the previous timer trigger (time's up), it will pop up a confirmation asking you if you indeed want to start such a timer again, or you have opened the app by mistake and want to cancel restarting it so soon.

Shall I delete my other calendar apps if I like your app?

Honestly, we'd not suggest to delete or stop using your other calendar app(s). We still use our Apple calendar a lot, if not daily. We have been using it for years and have developed a habit of sharing family events through that ecosystem, and it's really convenient that way. But since working on this app, we keep reaping the rewards of that shared calendar system, by copying everything into this app, which we could cross check against work schedules (not every single meeting) and look ahead by a week or two into the near future. 

Why should I use your app, instead of iPhone's built-in timer/clock and reminder apps?

Keep using your built-in clock, timer, and alarm—we do too.

Our app is designed to make one specific job faster and easier: starting a “put phone down” timer with a single tap (40 minutes by default).

You can:
- Start additional timers for multiple kids or family members with one tap each—no endless scrolling like on the iPhone timer
- Create your own custom timers and reminders that fit your family’s routine.

Apple's native Reminder app, though, isn't our favorite, which is partly why we are putting some reminders in our app. We also prioritize some important reminders to be voice announced when it's time for those critical moments, e.g. disconnect internet (to help screenagers take a screen time break), get ready for commute, or stove check (before heading out of house for work).

Will this app turn my phone off when my time's up?

Unfortunately, or fortunately, no.

"Touch Grass Protocol" (Set for late afternoon): A daily reminder that actual, physical lawns exist outside, and they are reportedly quite refreshing.

"Silence is Suspicious" (Set for 20 minutes): A rapid-tap timer for parents of younger kids. If it’s been quiet for too long, they are either sleeping or painting the living room couch with permanent marker.

"Check if the Teenager has Blinked Today" (Set for 2 hours): A weekend timer to make sure your kid hasn't completely dissolved into their monitor.

"Close the 47 Tabs You Aren't Reading" (Set for Friday afternoons): A weekly digital declutter reminder. Let them go. You are never going to read that article from 2024.

"Adult Recess" (Set for 2:00 PM): A mandatory 10-minute timer where you are legally forbidden from checking emails, Slack, or calendars, and must instead consume a snack in complete silence.

"Pretend to be an Athlete" (Set for weekend mornings): A reminder to swap the screen for a sweaty, real-world smile on the tennis or baseball court before the day gets away from you.